After ten years of activity, St. Mary’s Catholic High School in Muhaisnah, the UAE,  has celebrated the graduation of its first batch of students.

Bishop Paolo Martinelli was present at the ceremony, sharing the joy of this important milestone for a school belonging to the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia and entrusted to the sister of St. Paul de Chartres.

Addressing the graduates, the bishop encouraged the graduates asking them to look ahead with courage and trust. He said, “From today, new paths of education, new perspectives of knowledge and commitment open up before you. Be the first that God wants you to be; be fearless in accepting the path that God opens before you and open your hearts and minds to the beautiful future.”

He also expressed joy during the graduation ceremony saying, “Yours is the first batch of year 13, graduating from this school, therefore, our joy is heightened by the exceptional nature of the event we are celebrating.”

He added, “Today’s celebration has a very powerful and meaningful title: First, Fearless, and the Future. Being first is not primarily a matter of privilege or prestige, but of commitment and responsibility not only to oneself but also to others and to the society as a whole.”

Stating that “In these years, you have learned to see how many innovations are possible. New technologies make possible results that were unimaginable in the past,” he added: Recently, Pope Leo XVI, speaking to a group of university students, stated: ‘You are a desire and not an algorithm.’ He thus reminded us that the first source of strength lies within you, your humanity, your freedom, your dignity, your ineradicable desire for happiness and goodness, which no algorithm can replace.”

Urging the graduates to face the future with courage, he said: “May the Almighty God accompany you and protect you wherever you go and grant you His blessings.”